In this media interview, Kendall Ananyi, founder, and chief executive officer of Tizeti, speaks on the increasing interest in Africa’s broadband connectivity, especially with the floating of the Google Equiano submarine cable, MainOne’s acquisition by Equinix, and shares insight on how Nigerian asset managers can emulate the peers in countries like South Korea and Netherland who are investing in digital infrastructure.
Excerpts:
Equinix recently completed its acquisition of MainOne, Google is landing its Equiano international cable this month and we see other similar projects. What is driving this strong interest that is manifesting in the investments, opportunities, and trends we are seeing?
Yes, the interest has been huge. Last month, we welcomed the first landing of Google’s international cable, Equiano to Togo, and heard that it will land in Nigeria this month. This is Google’s third private and 14th co-invested submarine and indicates the company’s interest in boosting internet penetration in Africa.
And there are many positive outcomes from projects like this. Equiano is expected to drop wholesale broadband prices significantly, which means operators can buy more capacity to pass on to their customers, drive new investments into the countries that it lands and improve internet outcomes for millions of people.
But that’s not the only thing that’s happening around the digital infrastructure space. If you look at the fixed broadband space, which is where I play, we just announced a partnership with Microsoft to go into Oyo State.
This partnership will see us deploy our low-cost wireless technologies to make it easier and cheaper for people, especially those in underserved communities, to access the internet and get connected to the digital economy.
Read the story on BusinessDay here.
